The Knowledge of Languages – a World without Borders- No Borders
Our project “The Knowledge of Languages – a World without Borders” is a two-year Erasmus+ KA2 project with the main priority of supporting individuals in acquiring and developing basic skills and key competencies, is targeted at preschool children, their parents and educators. By implementing this project, we would like to contribute to promoting a comprehensive approach to language teaching and learning by encouraging early language learning and awareness, as well as to encourage the use of new technologies to support language learning and the integration of the language dimension across the curricula by focusing on reaching adequate competence levels by the end of compulsory education and by promoting creative and integrated approaches to language teaching and learning process. This could be a step towards creation of language aware schools, as apart from some private schools, language teaching at the national level is not included in the curriculum. By involving preschool children and their parents, we would also like to ensure that the basic skills, like languages and digital competencies are available for all individuals from early childhood throughout the whole life, in such a way promoting life-long learning process.
There are five partners in the project from five different countries: Latvia, Czech Republic, Romania, Turkey and Norway, and all the involved partners represent preschool institutions (kindergartens or preschool groups) with a common aim of finding the best methodology for early foreign language teaching and learning, as foreign language teaching is not in any of these countries’ national preschool curriculum and in some of them is taught only optionally. Target audience involved in the project activities – 33 teachers, 1245 children from all participating organizations in the project and ~ 1200 parents. During the project in each preschool of 5 involved countries creative English lessons will be organized. Language learning will be offered once a week. Each partner will develop suggestions for topics, all together 15. After that 3 themes for each partner will be selected. The project will have three stages: testing, development and application of the developed methodological material.
The project will consist of three transnational project meetings (Czech Republic, Turkey, Norway); two intellectual outputs: the methodological material for foreign language learning “How to Learn the First Words in Foreign Languages” , and a digital website “Early Age Language Teaching Website”; two multiplier events (Latvia, Turkey); two Learning teaching training activities (Romania, Latvia).
The expected impact of the project is the following: more experienced and trained preschool teachers; trans-nationally enriched and shared experience about foreign language teaching and learning, digitally available to everyone who would be interested; interest in different languages and culture, different cultural values that would enrich all participants; motivated preschool children with more developed language competencies; more motivated parents interested in their children’s learning process and encouraged to try foreign language learning by themselves.
In the long-term we expect: promotion of competencies approach to language teaching and learning which is essential also for the general competencies approach already started at preschools in Latvia and continuing in the next stages of primary and secondary schools, a higher quality and efficiency of education in all stages, innovative educational methods for teaching and learning foreign languages; wider involvement of parents in their children’s learning process; teacher training and experience of international cooperation; promotion of educational institutions and local municipalities; involvement of other regional preschools in applying the created methodological materials; shared international experience and cultural values of each partner country; availability to use the created methodological materials digitally by everyone interested in this sphere. We would also plan to continue the foreign language teaching/learning optional activities on regular basis at Zasa secondary school preschool groups, with the help of Jekabpils County municipality.